The 2024 Dream It, Be It conference is being hailed a success by organizers.
Held Feb. 10, the career/resource fair drew more than 100 young women, transgender and non-binary youth – aged 15-19 years old – to Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus to explore career-building opportunities, connect with potential mentors and attend workshops highlighting a variety of fields.
READ MORE: ‘Dream It, Be It’: Surrey career/resource fair is free for teen girls Feb. 10
Presented by the White Rock and Surrey/Delta Soroptimist clubs, the aim was to help provide the youth with “experience, training and resources to equip them to take on the task of changing the world.”
Attendees “were excited and there was a lot of good energy,” said Kathie Alary, one of the lead volunteers from the White Rock club.
“Even the mentors were connecting and that was important.”
More than 70 mentors – including teachers, lawyers, politicians and financial advisers – participated, sharing information and resources with the youth, as well as some of the challenges they overcame and the joys they find in their jobs. The youth were able to choose from 15 workshops, and also heard from keynote speaker Dr. Leeann Waddington.
White Rock Soroptimist club president Jas Sahl said she “was inspired by the calibre of mentors and the young ladies registered to attend to learn and plan for their future.”
“It was wonderful to see that there are other pathways to having a career than just post-secondary education,” Sahl added.
A number of awards were presented at the conference, including a $1,000 KPU tuition waiver and four Violet Richardson Awards.
The waiver, presented by KPU external affairs vice-president Randall Heidt, went to L.A. Matheson student Gurpal Manhas, 17, while the Violet Richardson Awards went to White Rock’s Kriti Dhingra and Eunsoo Oh, Surrey’s Diya Reddy and Alice Pu from Delta.
Funding partners for the event included Soroptimist Foundation of Canada, KPU and Surrey Fire Fighters Charitable Society.